Fruits of Love
by hawker-748
Summary: While flying over Mahora early one morning, Setsuna Sakurazaki thinks about her teacher and her feelings for him. Negi/Setsuna


Disclaimer: Mahou Sensei Negima/Magister Negi Magi is the property of Ken Akamatsu and Del Rey. This is simply a humble piece of fan fiction, and it won't earn me a dime…

"X" Spoken words

'X' Thoughts

By: Hawker748

C C is welcome in the reviews or at hawker(underscore)748(at) hotmail(dot)com

Mahou Sensei Negima:

Fruits of Love

The cool predawn air over Mahora Academy was mostly calm, with only the occasional breeze disturbing it. The sky was still dark but the horizon was lightening up, heralding the imminent sunrise and the start of another beautiful Sunday summer morning. Setsuna Sakurazaki closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the wind whipping through her hair, her snow white feathers rustling softly as she glided almost noiselessly over Mahora. As a member of the bird tribe, flying was second nature to her, but she hadn't been able to do it very often, and she relished any opportunity that arose.

Angling down into a dive, Setsuna opened her eyes and watched the ground growing closer, her heart rate increasing with her velocity before she pulled up hard, flapping her wings in a power climb as she traded speed for altitude. Reaching around four thousand feet, Setsuna leveled off and settled into a graceful glide, her wings flapping just once a minute or so to help maintain her height. Far below her, Mahora stretched out as far as she could see; the World Tree was the most dominant feature, with Library Island and the bridge a close second and third. It was on occasions like this, seeing things the way they only looked from up high, that Setsuna felt a stab of pity for those who spent their entire lives on the ground.

'They'll never know how beautiful it is up here,' she thought. 'Even when they do fly, it's usually in some noisy airplane or helicopter. It can't be the same as just feeling the wind over your feathers…' Setsuna smiled, soaring as high as she was able, indulging herself in the occasional barrel roll, engaging in tight loops like she hadn't done in many, many years. 'I never would have thought that it would take one of the earthbound to remind me to do this… Although, Negi-sensei isn't completely earthbound, if you think about it…'

Setsuna felt her smile widen as she thought of her homeroom teacher; just picturing his kind face in her mind sent her spirits soaring higher than her wings could ever take her. When she'd first seen the young man who would become so important in her life, she hadn't been that impressed. He looked just like the ten year old he was, who couldn't even reach the blackboard properly without a stool. But Negi Springfield had grown in her eyes, his dedication and devotion to his teaching and his magic impressing her. His efforts to protect those who were important to him reminded her of her own efforts to shield her ojou-sama, Konoka Konoe.

They had worked together to rescue Konoka, Setsuna even forming a pactio with Negi and becoming a magic partner to him. They'd become closer during the trip to Kyoto, Negi-sensei convincing her to stay at Mahora when she'd been prepared to leave, her debt to the Konoe family repaid. The two of them had also spent some quiet time together during Mahorafest before they'd worked together to stop Chao Lingshen. After that hectic couple of days, Negi'd noticed that she was a little worn out and had suggested that she should take an opportunity to exercise her wings in the morning.

In looking back, Setsuna wondered why she'd never thought about trying something like this earlier. Despite Mahora's size, it was all but deserted in the early morning, and she'd been able to fly with almost no risk of being noticed. Even if someone did see her, after all that had happened during Mahorafest, a winged girl soaring overhead would probably be discounted as a trick of the light and forgotten by any casual observer. Of course, there was one who saw her fly regularly, but he'd never consider telling anyone about what he'd seen…

Several months earlier, Setsuna had nearly run into Negi quite literally, forgetting that he could fly on his wand, and only some last second evasive action had prevented a mid air collision. After they'd managed to regain their composure, the two of them flew together in a close formation. When Setsuna had asked her teacher why he was up so early, he told her that he hadn't been able to fall back asleep after Asuna had left for her paper route, and not wanting to wake Konoka, he'd decided to go flying. They flew together for several minutes before Setsuna'd had an impulse strike her; reaching over, she playfully tapped Negi on the forehead. "You're it…" she told him with a grin before diving for the ground.

Hurtling towards the earth, Setsuna looked over her shoulder and saw her teacher maintain his course for a few moments before he rolled over and rushed after her like a hawk pursuing a pigeon.

The chase was on.

While struggling to avoid Negi, Setsuna discovered that while she was faster in a dive, he could climb quicker, and his ability to stop and hover gave him an edge in maneuverability. On the other hand, she was the more experienced flier, and absolutely fearless, skimming between obstacles that Negi wouldn't even approach. The two of them flew in an aerial ballet, whizzing between buildings, under the bridge several times, the sky getting lighter before Negi finally managed to touch her ankle, letting out a triumphant whoop.

Wearing identical smiles and sweating from their exertions, Setsuna and Negi flew together in formation for a few more minutes before breaking off and heading back to their respective homes, not wanting to be seen by any potential early risers. When they met up again later that morning during the dash to class, neither mentioned what had happened, but when they happened to have a brief moment together they made arrangements to do it again the next day. The predawn 'dogfight' had become an almost daily ritual, the two of them pushing the other to improve their flying skill in order to keep up.

A bond had been formed during those aerial duels, and Setsuna found herself thinking of her teacher more and more. Yes, he was only ten years old, but he had a maturity and dedication that few adults could match, and she kept wondering if she should tell him how she felt. She'd remembered what Negi'd been like after Nodoka Miyazaki had told him she loved him, but that had seemed to work out in the end, and if the normally shy librarian could muster the courage to tell him how she felt, why not her? It had taken nearly a week to psyche herself for the task, but finally one Sunday morning she asked Negi if he could follow her. Setsuna lead him out to the bridge, landing on one of the support towers; she hadn't wanted any interruption or risk the chance of someone witnessing what happened.

Struggling to keep the tremor out of her voice, Setsuna admitted to Negi that she'd developed feelings for him; it was the hardest thing she'd ever done. She knew that Asuna probably had some feelings for him, and she was Setsuna's friend as well. She'd felt guilty at finally acknowledging her heart, not wanting to betray someone close to her. It was even more difficult in regards to Konoka; her ojou-sama had been friendly with Negi-sensei since his arrival, and Setsuna was sure that she probably cared for him as well. After she'd poured out her heart, Setsuna had turned away, not sure that she could look at Negi when he politely told her that it wouldn't be possible to have something together, and maintain her composure.

She'd closed her eyes and felt tears start to well up when Negi took hold of her hand. Setsuna opened her eyes in surprise and saw her teacher holding onto her and looking down at his feet, unable to meet her gaze. He spoke very softly and she'd had to strain to hear him whisper that he had feelings for her as well, but that he had no idea what he was supposed to do when that happened. Tearing up for an entirely different reason, Setsuna knelt down and embraced Negi, folding her wings around him as she hugged him, feeling him tentatively wrap his arms around her and rest his head on her shoulder.

The two of them leaned back and gazed into each other's eyes, Setsuna hoping that hers didn't look too red before she leaned down and kissed Negi gently. He responded hesitantly at first, but soon they were kissing passionately, their hands running over the other, Setsuna pulling up Negi's shirt as he slid his hand up her skirt. When it was over, Setsuna laid on her back, her wings protectively wrapped around Negi as his head rested on her chest, the two of them at a loss for words, simply reveling in the closeness and intimacy of the moment.

They stayed on top of the bridge the entire day, unable to leave in daylight without being noticed. The two of them enjoyed each others company, talked, watched the people come and go, and made love three more times before the sun went down and they parted ways, each knowing that something magical had happened.

Since that day, they usually used the age illusion candies when they were intimate, but Setsuna was a little surprised, as well as a bit concerned that she enjoyed it more on the few occasions when Negi was in his true form. More comforting to her, and a further reason she loved him, was the way he had looked at her and called her beautiful the first time she'd shown him her true appearance, with her undyed white hair and red eyes. 'True form…' she mused to herself as she performed a snap roll. She told herself that it was better with Negi without the candies because that was his true form, the person she'd fallen for, and not an idealized illusion. But deep down, she hoped that she wasn't becoming a copy of the class rep.

As if the mere thought of Ayaka was enough to summon her, Setsuna's sharp eyes picked up the class rep below her as she went for an early morning jog. She could feel a scowl twisting her delicate features before she was able to regain her composure; she was astonished at how much jealousy Ayaka could invoke in her, she wouldn't have believed it was possible. Setsuna knew who Negi was in love with, but the haughty girls constant and blatant attempts to woo HER Negi galled her to no end. Setsuna had promised herself to not let the wealthy girls attitude bother her, but that hadn't prevented her from dive-bombing her early one morning with an armful of water balloons.

'I don't think they could really be called water balloons,' Setsuna admitted to herself. 'Especially since I filled them with used motor oil…' It had been petty, but she had just been able to keep the satisfied smirk off her face when the class rep finally made it to homeroom, still smelling like a garage. When Negi had innocently asked Ayaka if she'd taken up auto shop, Setsuna'd had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.

A pensive look came over Setsuna as she went over what she was going to discuss with Negi over breakfast later that morning. She was certain that he'd be happy about her news, but she was still feeling a bit nervous. Something had happened which would have an impact on their relationship and the two of them needed to talk about it. Fortunately, Negi was scheduled to eat with her that morning, something he'd started doing in order to meet with his students in a more relaxed setting. They were usually a meet and greet, with him offering some one-on-one tutoring to the students who needed it; while Setsuna's grades weren't bad enough to make her the sixth Baka Ranger, she was nowhere near the top of the class. When Setsuna and Negi were in these sessions, they did study, but usually after they'd made love, Negi reading from the textbook while Setsuna leaned against him, listening closely.

Setsuna dove down towards her window, flaring at the last second and reducing her airspeed to almost zero before her feet touched the window sill. It was almost time for Negi to arrive and the sun had started to rise, putting an end to her flying for another day. With the usual twinge of regret, Setsuna retracted her wings and headed for the shower, idly dropping her clothes as she went. After a quick wash to sluice off the sweat of exertion, Setsuna tied up her robe and checked her hair in the mirror to make sure there wasn't a hint of white at the roots. She had just finished tying her hair to the side when there was a knock at the door. Trying not to act giddy, Setsuna rushed to the door and opened it. "Good morning Negi-sensei! …A-and you too, Asuna… O-ojou-sama…"

"Good morning Set-chan!" Konoka replied brightly.

"Hey," Asuna added grumpily, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

"This is… a surprise…" Setsuna murmured, giving Negi a look. In the back of her head, a tiny voice was congratulating her for not giving in to the impulse to greet her guest wearing only a bra, panties, and garter belt. Unconsciously cinching her robe tighter, she asked, "Is something wrong Negi-sensei? Has another enemy shown up?"

"No, there's nothing wrong," Negi reassured her, looking a little embarrassed. "I fell out of bed when I got up today, and I woke up Konoka and Asuna. I felt it was only fair that I invite them along…"

Looking at Negi's sheepish smile, Setsuna couldn't find it in her to get mad; he was just doing what he always did, trying to be considerate of others. And it wasn't as if spending time with the others was punishment, as Setsuna was genuinely friendly with Asuna and Konoka, especially the latter. So much so with Konoka that she'd heard some whispers about the nature of their relationship and those always made her laugh. She and Konoka may have been closer than some sisters, but Setsuna had never thought of her in that way.

"Set-chan, you sit down with the others, I'll cook breakfast," Konoka announced.

"B-but ojou-sama-"

"We're uninvited guests, the least I can do is cook," Konoka assured her childhood friend. Without giving Setsuna a chance to argue, she walked into the kitchen, leaving the others no choice but to sit down.

Negi, Asuna, and Setsuna chatted amiably at the table while Konoka prepared breakfast, talking about everything from the latest gossip to how Negi was making out in his search for his father. Time passed in the blink of an eye before Konoka walked back into the dining room carrying a tray. "Food's ready!"

"Bacon and eggs, ojou-sama?" Setsuna asked.

"Negi's favorite," Konoka replied, handing each person a plate. "Hope you don't mind…"

"No, it's fine," Setsuna reassured her friend. "But you didn't need to buy eggs just for this…"

"I didn't buy them, I just used what was there."

"But I didn't have any eggs, I was going to go shopping today."

"I thought so too, but I found some."

Setsuna froze. "F-found some…?" she whispered.

Konoka nodded. "Yes, they were in your bedroom, on the bed, wrapped in a blanket. You could have sat on them, Set-chan…"

Setsuna felt herself start trembling, the blood draining from her face as she went cold with horror. The eggs… Her and Negi's eggs… Their children… Their FUTURE… The physical manifestation of their love… Destroyed… Consumed… Shaking in grief and fury, Setsuna opened her mouth to wail as only a grieving mother could.

"Try the eggs Set-chan!" Konoka told her cheerfully, popping a forkful into her mouth.

Setsuna's mouth closed reflexively, a wave of nausea washing over her as she unwillingly chewed on the unborn remains of her brood. She expected gorge to come rushing up her throat any second now. These were hers and Negi's CHILDREN, their future! These were…

These were the best scrambled eggs Setsuna had ever tasted.

"Is there any more?" Setsuna asked Konoka, her mouth full as she scooped up another forkful.

"Finish these first," Konoka replied with a sunny grin as the others dug into their breakfasts as well. There was no further talking as everyone devoured the delicious food, Setsuna having seconds, and even finishing off what Negi couldn't eat.

"That was delicious Konoka," Asuna said with a satisfied sigh, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Yes, it was," Negi agreed after finishing the last of his tea. "What did you do differently?"

"Nothing, must have been the eggs," Konoka replied. "Set-chan, where did you get them?"

"Ummm… I have my sources," she responded guardedly, casting a surreptitious look at Negi. "I think I'll be able to get more soon…"

"I hope so, they were delicious…"

"They were," Setsuna murmured, using her fork to pick up a tiny morsel of the eggs on her plate and put it in her mouth, savoring the indescribable flavor. 'It's true,' she thought to herself as she swallowed the last bit. 'Food does taste better when you make it with someone you love…'

End of Fruits of Love

Author's Notes:

This was pre-read by random1377, and he deserves SOME of the blame. When I was explaining Setsuna and her bird tribe heritage, he made the mistake of asking me, "Does she lay eggs?"

…at the same time I happened to be eating a late breakfast…

After telling him this idea, he egged me on to write it…

Feel free to flame. I'm expecting them anyway, so I might as well welcome them…


End file.
